How will his Bowling Green 20.5 ppg translate in the ACC?
What About The Bench? Who’s Going To Be Our X-Factor?
Our bench has players that could come into a game and be the difference maker. As a matter of fact, if this season ends up being a really good one, it might very well be due to one (or more) of the guys that start the season on the bench.
These are players that I expect to begin the season coming off the bench – each for different reasons – but who might be starters at some point. Each of which I think could be X-Factors this season
Marcus Hill
The Question – Can he bring it from JUCO to a Mid-Major to the ACC?
Resume – Marcus was brought in to help pick up the scoring load after we lost 4 of our 5 leading scorers. He has been a scorer at each level. As a sophomore he led the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in points scored, shooting 49.7% from the field. Last season he was the only D1 player in the country with nine straight 20+ point games. He finished last season with 19 20-point games and three 30-point games. (22 / 34 games) The guy can score!
Reasons for skepticism – This will be only his second season facing D1 quality competition and his first at a high major. He averaged 20.5 ppg but took 16.9 shots per game to get those points. He had 10 games last season with 4+ turnovers, averaging 2.6. He shot 28.9% (26-90) from 3PT.
Reasons for optimism – He made the transition from JUCO to mid-major just fine. He is very good taking the ball to the basket and either converting or getting fouled. He’s a good passer, 2.6 apg last season.
Where does he fit in the rotation?
- His turnover rate last season suggests that he might not thrive at PG at this level, however that might also reflect the fact that he was ‘Mr Everything’ for Bowling Green and dominated the ball. Opponents probably game planned around him. But he was a decent passer, he had 7 games last season with 4 or more assists.
- He was neither a quality nor quantity 3PT shooter so not a traditional wing. His strength is taking the ball to the basket, last season he led the nation in shots at the rim. Definitely something we did not do well from the guard position last season.
- He was a very good rebounder (5 rpg). But that might be partly attributed to put-backs since he spent a lot of time driving to the basket.
- He’s a good mid-range shooter, something that Casey and DJH did well for us last season and we needed to replace.
- All of which leads you to believe he might be better coming off the bench at the 1 or 2. However, he’s never played with a team this talented, and he’s spent three seasons carrying the offensive load for his teams. Plus, he’s been on campus working with the team since May. He might look like a somewhat different player this season. There is definitely a place and plenty of minutes for a guy that scored 20+ in roughly 2⁄3 of his games last season. We just need to figure out the best fit.
Best case scenario – Marcus could be a clone of Judah Mintz. Mintz was a starting guard for Syracuse last season and is now looking for a spot in the NBA. They play a similar game. Like Hill, Mintz was relentless at driving to the basket. There are a lot of similarities:
- Mintz is 6’3” 172, Hill is 6’4” 185.
- Mintz played 34 mins per game, Hill 36.
- Mintz shot 43.8% / 28.2% / 76.5% , Hill 44.3% / 28.9% / 74%.
- Mintz averaged 4.4 assists, Hill only averaged 2.6 – however, he’ll have much more talented teammates to pass to this season
- Mintz led the ACC in FTA & FTM, Hill was third in the MAC in both.
- Mintz led Cuse in scoring with 18.8 ppg, Hill led BGSU in scoring with 20.5.
- Mintz was second team All-ACC. Hill was first team All-MAC.
If Hill can bring those ‘Mintz-like’ skills to the Wolfpack … watch out!
BASKETBALL SEASON IS LOOMING!